Black Bag (2025)

March 23, 2025 7:26 PM

A spy thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh that features a British intelligence officer (Michael Fassbender) who is investigating a list of potential traitors within his organization. As the investigation progresses, the officer discovers that one of the suspects could be his own wife (Cate Blanchett).
posted by jeremias (9 comments total)

Sometimes you just want a really well-made 90 minute movie, and for me, this scratched the itch. Perhaps more of a whodunnit than a spy thriller, Fassbender and Blanchett work very well together on screen. The supporting cast is solid, soundtrack is fantastic and lots of dry humor to go around. I enjoyed it thoroughly from beginning to end.
posted by jeremias at 7:33 PM on March 23 [5 favorites]

This was a delight.
posted by tofu_crouton at 5:44 AM on March 24

This was enjoyable but felt a little too short in the middle section. I never felt like the husband, or especially the wife were really that invested in one another.
posted by spudsilo at 10:02 PM on March 25

This was so so so fun. The dialogue is excellent. Everyone involved is hot. It stops at 94 minutes. The perfect weeknight film.
posted by Klipspringer at 4:09 PM on March 26 [2 favorites]

That was fun and stylish, enjoyed it a lot. Good to have a tight movie that doesn't drag for a moment.

I'm not sure about the ending considered as a whodunnit. It didn't really click together for me, it was more of a "Huh?" But still worth it for the journey.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 11:39 PM on March 27

Loved it. Seems like there wasn't a wasted breath in the whole movie. I need to rewatch it to see how all the pieces fit together.
posted by adamrice at 7:58 PM on March 30

Pierce Brosnan is magnificent.
posted by whuppy at 10:27 AM on April 6

I loved their clothes. Fassbender in particular was styling.
posted by Carillon at 10:15 PM on April 8 [1 favorite]

Just saw this in a theater, and am very pleased with that decision. It's a deliberately slow start, I assume to give that "wilderness of mirrors" feel, and I'm glad I was in an environment with no distractions. By the end I was on the edge of my seat.

Fassbender was such an amoral, competent, focused asshole it was pleasure to watch.

IMO the real twist at the end wasn't who the traitor was, or the relatively simple (if dramatically and visually compelling) gimmick to get him. It was that George and Kathryn really were the one perfect couple.
posted by mark k at 9:16 PM on April 9 [2 favorites]